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Songs:
Cool Down on the Banks of Jordan
Fog on the Water
Step Out in the Sunshine
Touch My Heart
On The Banks of the River
Let's Turn Back The Years
Time to Sell
The Butcher's Boy
Go Home Before It's Too Late
I Just Steal Away and Pray Your Lone Journey
Precious Jewel
32 Acres
The Fiddler
Gently Rock Me

CCCD-0183
Copper Creek Records
P.O. Box 3161
Roanoke, VA 24015
c. 2000

Personnel:
Tracy Schwarz: vocals, guitar
Ginny Hawker: vocals
Buddy Griffin: mandolin
Jim Martin: bass
Peter Schwarz: fiddle and tenor vocals

Ginny and Tracy met at the Ashokan Fiddle and Dance Camp and their harmonies together led to their marriage five years later. While both have solo songs on the album, it's their harmonies together that make the songs magical. The liner notes offer an insight into their music: "This CD has no agenda to change the universal consciousness or even affect the world of music. We just love to sing and we like these songs. Somewhere in here we hope you'll find a favorite that will start you singing again, ......or ring in your ears for days, drowning out your worries and your TV."

There's something for everyone on the CD. "Touch My Heart" is an old country favorite and "The Butcher's Boy" is a folk song from the Harry Smith collection and Ginny's version is very different from an earlier Joan Baez version. "Your Lone Journey" is a Doc Watson song that has also been done by the Dry Branch Fire Squad but Tracy and Ginny slow the song so that the aching sounds of the lyrics stand out. Tracy has written several songs for the collection and his "Time To Sell" recounts the true story of a family selling a '68 Chevelle belonging to a son killed while fighting for his country. The late Randall Hylton's song "32 Acres" tells the sad story of a farmer losing the family farm to a highway project.

The songs that "ring in your ears for days" for this reviewer are the first songs: "Cool Down on the Banks of Jordan" and "Step Out in the Sunshine." The harmonies blend seamlessly and the joyous meeting on the banks of Jordan and the sunshine beaming from heaven add a little bounce to the day.